Crunchtime

Wow, another article that misses the point big time.
I taught in Arizona for six years. Mesa is not considered one of the best districts in the metro area (easily supplanted by the Chandler and Gilbert public school districts). They also were "fortunate" to have a large chunk of its potential failure base forced out of the area due to the recession and significant loss of student population. Also, there are significant number of charter schools that cater to potential dropouts. These students that TRANSFER into these and are no longer counted as part of the main district populations. The transfer is encouraged versus the placement. Once the 100 days are over to count the students for funding, districts are more than happy to send these students packing. Also, Mesa's main at-risk population was a significant Hispanic population that had a good chunk of illegal aliens who left the state once jobs fell apart.
(http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2012/04/20/20120420declining-enrollment-likely-slow-mesa.html) (http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2010/10/14/20101014mesa-schools-enrollment-dropping1009.html)
All I can say is...wow! This is what goes as unbiased journalism today.

This feels more like a vendetta article rather than an attempt at unbiased journalism. Again, blame the system for the failure to succeed instead of holding individuals, especially high school students (some of whom engage in "adult" activities such as drinking and sex) accountable for their own actions. Yes, there are bad teachers, but quite frankly, there is little incentive for excellent teachers to be in the public schools with the constant blame game and "save them all" at any cost mentality.

Hammond appears to refuse to look at the critical element of education in the last ten years...if not the last 100. Without parent support, it is a running battle to keep children in high school. Mix the growing class sizes, increase in standards, with the failure of accountability and support from home and the chances of a student failing grow exponentially. Hammond could ask good students just how much of a trial it can be to deal with obnoxious and lazy behavior. However, students who are in AP/honors classes can avoid some of this chaos because they luckily track out. As a long time educator, I have seen an increasing amount of effort placed in trying to keep these kids in school but little reciprocation from students or parents. After a while, frustration sets in, and eventually the decision of sanity is made to let natural (gasp) consequences occur, or let burn out claim yet another educator. This is why public education will continue to lose good teachers. Salary is not everything, but this constant "blame the teacher game", on top of ridiculous approaches of test first, teach constructive information second will be what destroys public education. If we want rigorous standards, then be willing to accept the loss of students. If we want to accept compromise (which is what the American public school system has done too much of since the Nation at Risk report in 1983), keep trying to force kids who do not care to get an education. Failure is an option if one desires it.

I disagree. There are more than enough soccer fans who think Spencer has worn out his welcome. He is losing this team (some of my Timbers Army friends say he has not only lost this team but also has lost them). So, let the Timbers continue this tirade of bad play so that by late summer, getting a ticket to a match could very well be easy. Luckily soccer is not like the NFL or the NBA, because if it was, sports talk would have had a field day. Imagine the Ducks football team losing to Portland State...after having a recent loss to Colorado State and Northwestern. Coaching change would be part of the conversation. It should be here.

When Jamal Crawford goes up to the Phoenix Suns bench and basically yells "Get me outta here!" while his teammates look on...during a game, it is time for a major change. Crawford would rather take chances with Robert Sarver than with Paul Allen. Between this, a questionable training staff, and questionable decision making, there has to be someone with $450 million that would be glad to take this off Allen's hands. How did the Suns, who have much less talent than the Blazers, end up having a shot at the playoffs, while basketball season for all intent and purposes, is done with two weeks to go?

The other thing that bothers me is why some Blazer fans are not concerned about this or want to readily dismiss this concern? Come on now! I know there is a passion for this team, and this passion should extend to a theory that looks pretty darn creditable to the rest of the country. Injuries happen yes, but long-term injuries are not as common, but appear to be for the Blazers. Look at Dallas. Look at San Antonio. Look at LA. Have any of those teams had near the number of extensive injuries? No.
This is a legitimate question, not just because Canzano brought it up.

Look, all one has to do is look at the Phoenix Suns. The Blazers front office needs to suck up their pride, take a trip down to Phoenix, and try and find out what they are doing. Nash is 38 and still a prolific player. Grant Hill was doing well, had an injury, but is already about to come back. They managed to get a few more miles out of Amare. When Amare left and went to the Knicks, it appears he has started to break down again. This particular analogy may be a stretch, but he did get the Suns to the Western Conference Finals in 2010. Shaq slowed down the Suns and it was not a good trade, but he was at least playing, instead of sitting on the bench. If anything, the preventative aspect of training the Blazers has some flaws in it whether they want to hear it or not. If this is not addressed, the Blazers may have to deal with other teams simply dropping a line "well, you could go there, but hey, look at all the injuries they have had."

This is just realistic: Greg, take the money you have and retire. Right now, it sadly appears the knees are just not going to ever be strong enough to play basketball. Get strong enough to walk, maybe run a little with your kids, but as far as basketball is concerned, end this. Blazers, you have to let him go. There is no future around Oden. Although he may be young in age, the game is passing him by. He has not been able to play in what, three seasons now? Even if he can somehow rebuild, he would not be on the NBA floor until fall of 2013...four years. Too long to be out...and all it does is put him at risk for another injury.

If this system truly worked and assessment counted much more than it currently does in most schools, the failure rate among my students (and I am sure countless others) would more than double. This is in part because if I do not require some sort of grade for the base work, there is a darn good chance that all but a handful would do it.
Personally, I do not have a problem with this. However, the powers that be would blast teachers such as myself into oblivion because the standardized test scores have dropped, as would the graduation rate. However, with seniors in high school, I cut points for homework assignments WAY back: In order to get them ready for college, I put a majority of the points on the final product. However, for the most part, I can get away with that because most seniors want to graduate. Also, I can justify it more because allegedly these kids are supposed to be going to college.
I also sharply dislike the removal of a zero for an assignment. If I scale back homework and put more onus on the end result, then I should be allowed to give a student the almighty zero for not turning that assignment in. Uh, that's the real world, folks. How the Oregon Business Education Roundtable agreed to this is somewhat baffling, but quite frankly, why should they care? Most major businesses will be grabbing college grads who, of course, have had four or more years of having to turn in assignments on time, under pressure, and with significant academic consequence. Even for those institutions who have adjusted their definition of what a college education is, businesses can still look for people who have had internships and have an established work ethic that overrides any hypocrisy an educational system might try to impart in shadow fashion.
(Oh, and yes, although behaviorism is no longer a norm standard for constructing curriculum, plenty of studies still show that behaviors still influence success, and thus should count against a student. Just because a student can get an "A" on test does not mean that student has the work ethic to do "A" effort work under fire in a real life scenario).

As an African-American, I declare this a hate crime. Sorry, but how is that child not supposed to start engendering racial fear and/or hatred when this happens to his mother right in front of him? No, these crimes are NOT what Martin Luther King espoused. This is an embarrassment to his legacy as well as well-meaning and hard working blacks. I was not raised this way and would have been slapped for even considering such an attitude. Some how or another, we need to stop walking on egg shells and call this behavior just what it is, wrong. Stop trying to placate it because of race, but someone will in order to excuse inexcusable behavior. I for one will not and hope that there is some decent justice that happens here...

Oregon's schedule is a problem...they would have to go 13-0 to get past the BCS computers unless the Pac-12 has a much stronger season than this year. Thus, it will come down to USC and Oregon (with Utah having a shot at messing it up for either or both). The Pac-12 will probably look much better in 2013, but there is a chance Rodriguez and his Arizona team can make things interesting as well. I wish Oregon has at least one game from a real conference, even if that team was not necessarily that good. They will get little to no love for most of the season unless either Arizona or Washington State are above .500. In fact, it does not bode well if the USC game is Oregon's first real test. USC will have played Stanford, Cal and Utah by the time they play the Ducks.

Okay, I am officially adopting the Blazers as my second team. I have been here a year and a half and today's news about B-Roy and then Oden stunned me, and I then realized, dang it, I like the Blazers. This franchise needs something good to happen and soon. Why can't this stuff happen to the Lakers? Like...now.

Sorry, but I have to agree with chunks of this story. This game is embarrassing. USC's pasting of UCLA just makes next week's match up something Pac-12 officials have to be hating life over. Oregon deserves to be in this game, but it would have been better for the conference if at least an 8-4 team were in the mix. I would have loved to have seen an Oregon-Stanford rematch. No more 6-6 teams in the conference final. Please.

I'm probably old enough and know more history about how many people are bamboozling America...and right now, Occupy Portland has joined the ranks. Yes, I was in my car because the Max has been blocked by these people and I have a family to raise. Getting people to switch to credit unions? Not a bad idea (I've been with one for fifteen years). Credit cards? Only one, for emergencies, so ha-ha, no money from me. Mortgage? Not until I can have at least 20 to 25 percent down so I am not at the mercy. I learned economic responsibility from two grandparents who survived the Depression as well as racism. My mother marched in Chicago, but she also knew when she was being effective and also when the line was pushed too far. Oh, when you can show me when in world history there has not been a dominate wealthy class, let me know. The only difference, we actually have a opportunity to express our displeasure. However, when that displeasure means that the marginal are more at immediate risk than from Chase Bank, then someone has lost sight on people. Nice try.

Hey Occupy Portland, what ever sympathy I might have had for you ended today. Taking an hour and a half to get home when it usually takes 30 to 40. Nope. Guess what? I have heard from a nice chunk of Democrat and Republicans today that are pissed and are sick of your antics. You are losing most of America. YOU are about to become the 1 percent. All you have done recently is made it DIRECTLY harder for the middle and lower class, not easier. Pack up your crap and get out of Portland. That's my free speech for you!

Tale of two teams: Boise State came to play Saturday. Oregon, well, was not sharp and midway through the 2nd half the feeling the Ducks were going to lose was pretty apparent. Oregon did not look like the same team that gave it a good run last year.
Here is the deal. Right now, Stanford and Arizona State can beat them. UA in Tucson, where it will still be in the mid to upper 90s in late September, could also be a dangerous foe for the Ducks.

If the recent sunspot findings are correct, then instead of global warming, we may be headed to a rather intense cool to cold period. Luck of the draw. I'll take this rain over a few F-5's and massive fires.